Tang Xiao’nan grew even more curious about Storm Xavier. From the sounds of it, he was a handsome man, but he came from a bad background. Things were different a dozen or so years ago. Back then, being classified as a landlord was like being cast into the deepest level of hell. You were plunged into a sunless world without a glimmer of hope, shut out from anything good and first in line for every misfortune.

The woman, Verna, who had dared to marry Storm Xavier, must have been incredibly brave.

"I never said I absolutely had to marry Storm Xavier. You and Dad disapproved, so I didn’t, did I? Besides, it’s not like Brian Chapman is a saint. He’s still running around with a mistress, isn’t he?"

Phoebe Thorne muttered under her breath. Brian Chapman definitely had a woman on the side, no doubt about it, but she had no proof.

Besides, Brian Chapman still handed over his entire salary and paid enough attention to the children. So, Phoebe Thorne just turned a blind eye, not wanting to blow the matter up. But she felt suffocated by it, like she’d swallowed a fly. It was utterly sickening.

Raina had sharp ears. She demanded sharply, "Brian Chapman has a woman on the side? Who is she? Why didn’t you say anything?"

"I don’t have any proof. I was afraid you and Dad wouldn’t believe me. You’ve always praised him for being so honest and proper, you think so highly of him," Phoebe Thorne said, her voice tinged with resentment.

The truth was, she had never been impressed with Brian Chapman. For one, he lived too far from her family. For another, he was plain-looking and short—nothing at all like Storm Xavier. Phoebe Thorne had been completely against the match, but her father, Byron Thorne, had been insistent. He believed that Brian Chapman had a stable job, an "iron rice bowl," and an urban residence permit that came with state-provided grain. If Phoebe married him, she would become a city dweller, too.

And back then, Brian Chapman had indeed seemed honest and proper. He was taciturn and quite awkward. The matchmaker was Brian’s paternal aunt, who had married into Raina’s home village and was on fairly good terms with her. This aunt had beaten her chest, vouching for her nephew’s character and praising the Chapman family to the high heavens. Only then did Byron Thorne and Raina agree to the marriage.

Raina was so angry she began pacing in circles around the courtyard. She wished she could rush to Wraven right then and there to teach Brian Chapman a lesson. How dare he keep a mistress! Her daughter was beautiful and capable, yet that bastard still wasn’t satisfied.

"You fool, why didn’t you mention this last time? Do you think your brothers would have let that bastard get away with it?"

Raina scolded her daughter in exasperation, but her eyes fell on Phoebe’s swollen belly, and she felt a wave of helplessness. ’What good would it do to beat him up? She has a third child on the way. A divorce is out of the question. They have to keep living their lives!’

"Judith Chapman... I’m not letting her get away with this!"

Raina gritted her teeth. Judith Chapman was Brian Chapman’s paternal aunt and the matchmaker who had lured her daughter into this fiery pit.

"This won’t do. We have to demand more money for living expenses. He’ll behave if he’s broke," Raina said, quickly forming a plan. "In a few days, when work on the farm lightens up, I’ll have your eldest and third brothers go and get the money from him."

’Men get into trouble when they have money. Money is the root of all evil.’ Last time, they had agreed on twelve yuan a month to support Phoebe Thorne and her children. Brian Chapman’s monthly salary was thirty-five yuan, so twelve was more than a third of it—not a small amount.

But Raina was no longer satisfied. She had to get at least twenty yuan out of him. Let the Chapman family live on pickled vegetables with the remaining fifteen. ’We’ll see if that animal has any energy left for fooling around then.’

"Brian Chapman won’t give it," Phoebe Thorne said, not nearly as optimistic.

"Then we’ll beat it out of him!"

Raina scoffed. ’Fists are the only thing that matters. If we’d caught him in the act, I’d have had my sons break all three of that bastard’s legs. Besides, my daughter has already given him three children, so whether she has a husband or not is irrelevant. The only use for keeping Brian Chapman alive is for that salary he earns!’